This topic contains the pages:

Overview

To use a file collector to load data from a binary file, you must specify the file's structure or grammar. A binary file collector requires a grammar to define the file so that the collector can extract the data. Binary file grammars are defined in XML. With a binary file grammar you can define the structure of any binary or ASCII file that has a definable structure. The target nodes are the ones that will generate an output record.

To configure a File Collector to load data from a binary file you must:

• specify the grammar in the File Format Description section

• specify a set of target nodes in the Record Node field.

The topic Binary File Grammar gives details of:

• creating binary file grammars

• creating File Columns in a file collector that reads binary files, in the section Creating the File Columns for the File Collector.

• details of using the data read from binary files in Tables, in the section Referring to File Columns in Attribute Expressions.

Grammar

A binary file grammar is an XML document that specifies the structure of a binary or ASCII file. 

Note in the following sections that:

• attribute (beginning with lower case a) refers to attributes of nodes, in the standard terminology of XML.

• Attribute Node (beginning with upper case A) refers to a node that represents a target file collector Column– that is, an Attribute in PhixFlow that can be used in the output table to populate an attribute.

• Control, Data, etc.Nodes – that is, types of nodes specific to PhixFlow binary file grammars – will start with an upper case letter.

• Expressions are PhixFlow scripting expressions – see PhixFlow help for more details. All Expressions must be inside curly braces in a grammar file, unless contained in a Script Node.

Nodes

There are three classes of node in a binary file grammar:

• Control nodes that define the possible options, sequences, choices and repeating loops in the file. These nodes are:

  • <Grammar/>

  • <Repeat/>

  • <Sequence/>

  • <Choice/>

• Logic nodes that run Expressions to calculate values that might be used later, or to carry out validation logic. These nodes are:

  • <Script/>

  • <Validate/>

• Data nodes that construct the Attributes and Records that will be generated by the binary file reader. These nodes are:

  • <Record/>

  • <Attribute/>

  • <Tag/>

  • <Length/>

  • <Name/>

  • <Value/>

  • <Bytes/>